Mr Armitage said a potential North Korean missile strike would draw in American allies.

"There's no way we wouldn't all be in it from the get-go," he said, but added that Australia was not viewed by Americans as a "US policeman".

On US politics, Mr Armitage, a life-long Republican who voted for Democrat Barack Obama in 2012, said his party would be unlikely to win the 2016 US presidential election, and predicted Hillary Clinton would run.

"We joke among ourselves ... They say by 2040 if there's a moderate Republican in the White House they want to be ready."

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